Oil Sheens in Gulf of Mexico Traced Back to Deepwater Horizon Site

When the US Coast Guard was informed of oil sheens in the Gulf of Mexico in July 2012, there was concern over where this oil was coming from. In order to determine the source of the sheen, a research team assembled to use recently patented technology in order to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the sheens, compare them to potential sources, and estimate the location of the source based on the extend the gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens. “The results demonstrate a recently developed geochemical analytical method and may have real-world implications in environmental management strategies for future contamination incidents,” says Deborah Aruguete, program director in NSF’s Division of Earth Sciences, which co-funded the research.